Retainer Ranks and Military Structure
There were eleven main ranks into which the retainers of the Sendai domain were divided.
- Ichimon 一門: blood relations of the Date clan. Held prestige but no actual political or administrative role.
- Ikka 一家: The families who ran much of the high-level day to day affairs of the Date clan.
- Jun ikka 準一家: Families who had lost their heads or had been incapacitated due to internal strife in the Date clan.
- Ichizoku 一族: Fudai (long-standing) retainers of the Date clan.
- Shukurō 宿労: Hereditary bugyō (magistrates).
- Chakuza 着 座: Retainers who had the right to report to the castle and present the lord with a sword and stirrups for new year's celebrations, and in return receive a cup of sake from the lord. This rank was founded after Date Masamune's tenure as lord.
- Tachi-jō 太刀上: Retainers who had the right to present the lord with a sword at new year's festivities, and in return received a cup of sake from the lord. This was a rank founded after Masamune's tenure.
- Meshidashi 召出: Retainers who had the right to appear at the domainal new year's festivities. As with chakuza and tachi-jō, this rank was founded after Masamune's time.
- Heishi 平士 and Ōbanshi 大番士: The main body of Sendai's fighting force, the rank was organized in Date Masamune's time and revived during the tenure of the fourth daimyo Tsunamura. One kumi 組 (unit) consisted of 360 men, and the domain had 10 such units, setting their number at 3600.
- Kumi-shi 組士: The men under the heishi and ōbanshi. Footmen, tea instructors, hawking assistants, entourage members, among others, all came from this category.
- Sotsu 卒: Foot soldiers, coolies, lesser menials, and so on.
Read more about this topic: Sendai Domain
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